LONDON, 2015-1-21 — /EPR Retail News/ — Sainsbury’s is the first major supermarket to launch Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified cod on their café menu. As the leading retailer for sustainable seafood, this adds to the 150 Sainsbury’s products that carry the MSC logo and have been sourced from sustainable fisheries.
Hand battered cod and chips is on menu at 277 of the retailer’s in-store cafes. Our cod is caught in the North East Atlantic by Icelandic and Norwegian boats. The fisheries are not only sustainable by helping supply fish for future generations, but also help to support local communities in remote areas.
Ally Dingwall, Sainsbury’s Aquaculture & Fisheries Manager said: “We’re proud to have the largest range of fish products to carry the MSC logo, whether you’re buying basics fish fingers or Taste the Difference prawns. This move in our cafes is a great step towards strengthening our position as the leading retailer for sustainable seafood.”
Toby Middleton, Senior Country Manager at MSC said: “This is yet another innovative market first for Sainsbury’s, not just for the UK but globally, as the world’s first supermarket ro offer MSC certified seafood in their cafés. It demonstrates their seriousness to have all the seafood they sell independently certified by 2020. I wholeheartedly congratulate them for this latest step on that journey.”
Sainsbury’s was the winner of the MSC Fish Retailer of the Year 2014, the awards were in part to celebrate the 15th anniversary of MSC. The accolade is for the supermarket with the largest number of MSC labelled products across store. With 150 MSC product lines, Sainsbury’s was the clear winner demonstrating a commitment to MSC certified seafood across all fish categories. More than 1 in 4 MSC products sold last year were from Sainsbury’s by volume.
Little Story: Gone Fishin’
All our tuna is pole and line caught, which reduces the number of animals caught unintentionally and is also good for the environment.
Notes to editors
- Sainsbury’s is the largest retailer of Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified sustainable fish in the UK for the fourth year running. We sell over 150 products carrying the MSC logo, including on fish counters and in ready meals
- Sainsbury’s has been rated Number 1 by Greenpeace for the responsible sourcing of canned tuna in 2008 and again in 2011
- All of Sainsbury’s own brand canned tuna and all own brand canned tuna in further processed foods (i.e. sandwiches, sushi and ready meals) is pole and line caught
- In 2008, Sainsbury’s launched its responsibly sourced salmon which is specially reared on RSPCA Freedom Food approved farms on the West Coast and Islands of Scotland. We are also the biggest retailer of Freedom Food fish in the UK
- We are joint first in the MCS Supermarket survey for our long-term commitment to seafood sustainability
- We were the first major retailer in the UK to launch Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certified River Cobbler. Farmed in South East Asia, this white fish is a step towards providing a more responsibly farmed alternative fish in the supermarket
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